Citation

Abstract

This thesis is a typological investigation of the library -
specifically examining how digitizing information informs design. The
agency of the book, which has historically been the protagonist of
library design, is being radically transformed by the migration to the
digital. An analysis of this shift reveals opportunities where new
and provocative juxtapositions can be sought within this ancient and
well-known building type.
This library seeks to respond formally to the current condition of
the book, which, as it is translated to the electronic, is divided
into three phases: the absent, the common, and the unique. The absent
is an acknowledgement that information is now produced in a wide
variety of media whose representation can no longer be accommodated
by the book alone, the common is an affirmation that the mechanically
reproducible book is still legitimate, and in fact can be radically
recast using existing technologies, and finally the unique is an
understanding of how to treat objects resistant to digitization.
Conceptually, the ambition of the library is to provide increased
access to materials available online, while also providing
opportunities to access that which cannot be easily reproduced. It
stages a relationship between the two, and in the process tries to
strengthen its position as an agency of culture